Apparatus for producing ozone



Patented July 30, 1946 APPARATUS FOR, PRODUCING OZONE Donald K. Allison,Beverly Hills, Calif.

Application June 29, 1942, Serial No. 448,987

8 Claims.

My invention relates to an apparatus for producing ozone, and among theobjects of my invention are:

First, to provide an apparatus for producing ozone wherein the air to betreated is compressed and then subjected to refrigeration to removemoisture, as well as lower its temperature prior to introduction intothe ozone chamber;

Second, to provide an apparatus of this character which employs a novelrefrigerating system operated on energy otherwis wasted, therebyincreasing the over-all efficiency;

Third, to provide an apparatus of this character wherein the amount ofrefrigeration automatically changes in response to changes in demand ofozone; and

Fourth, to provide an apparatus for producing ozone which is inherentlycapable of being formed into a compact, portable self-contained unit andwhich is particularly designed for the treatment of water.

The figure is a diagrammatical view of my apparatus for producing ozone.

Air to be treated in order to form ozone is drawn through a filter I bya compressor 2. The air is compressed and passed through a refrigeratingunit or heat exchanger 3 which may remove not only the heat generatedduring compression but lower the temperature below that of the incomingair, and in cooling the air remove therefrom a large percentage of waterwhich may be drained oif by a drain valve 411. The heat exchanger maycomprise a shell 4 with a suitable refrigerating coil 5'therein, and mayincorporate baflies 6 to insure proper heat transfer. The compressed andrefrigerated air passes through a bleeder valve 1 to an air motor 8. Thebleeder valve is a three-way valv providing connection between therefrigerator unit and the motor, or permitting discharge of thecompressed air to atmosphere so as to by-pass the ozone generator, to bedescribed hereinafter, during an initial warming up period.

The air motor drives a shaft 9 and propeller I0. The propeller I ismounted within an ozonizer chamber II which contains ozone generatingelements I2. These may comprise sets of plates divided into two groupsseparated by dielectric material and connected to the secondary of ahigh voltage transformer I3. The ozonizer chamber II i provided with ajacket I4. The refrigerating unit and the jacket of the ozonizer chamberare connected to a refrigerant supply pipe I and to a refrigerant returnpipe I6,

2 through which a refrigerant circulates; the refrigerant of coursebeing isolated from the air.

The air from the air motor exhausts into the ozonizer chamber andcirculates therein by means of the propeller and is drawn from theozonizer chamber as needed through a discharge line I! controlled by avalve I8. Another control valve' is may be interposed between the filterI and compressor 2. V

The supply pipe and return pipes I5 and I6 are connected, respectively;to the lower and upper ends of an evaporator 2L A pump 22 is interposedin the supply pipe I5 so as to move liquid from the evaporator 2|.Various refrigerants may be used; ordinary water may be employed. Theevaporator 2I is maintained at a sub-atmospheric pressure as will bedescribed hereinafter. A float 23 which controls a valve 24 regulatesthe height of liquid in the evaporator, fluid being suppliedfrom abranch of a supply line 25 connected with a sump or reservoir 26.

The supply line also leads to a pump 21 which withdraws a refrigerantfrom the sump and delivers it to the jacket 28 of the internalcombustion engine 29 which serves as a preheater, the engine 29 beingprovided with a governor controlled carburetor 29a, as shown. The heatedrefrigerant passes from the jacket'to a boiler 30.

In addition, the exhaust pipe 3| of the internal combustion engine iscoiled in the boiler 30. The internal combustion engine drives anelectric generator 32 for supplying current to drive the mo-' torsconnected with the several pumps 22 and 21, as well as the compressor 2and transformer I3.

Heated refrigerant in the gaseous phase is discharged through jets 33extending. into vacuum pressure. Each of the condensers is provided withheat exchanger coils 38 which are connected to an evaporative cooler 39;a pump 49 maintains circulation. The last of the series 'of condensers36 discharges into the sump 26, from which it is withdrawn forrecycling, part of the refrigerant being heated by the otherwise wastedheat from the internal combustion engine and the other part circulatingin the cold circuit of the refrigerating system, that is, through thesupply and return pipes l5 and 16.

By utilizing the otherwise wasted heat of the internal combustion engineit is possible to so cool the air that the ozonizer operates at maximumefficiency. It should be noted that the process of ozonizing the airtends to heat it and that the amount of ozone that can be generateddiminishes as the temperature of the air increases, so that it is ofutmost .pratical importance to'maintain the air at as low a temperatureas possible. It is also mandatory that the cost per unit of ozoneproduced be as low as possible. All of these desirable goals areattained by utilizing the Wasted heat of the internal combustion enginewhich supplies the power for the differentparts of the apparatus eitherby mechanical connection, as by the belt and pulley arrangement, 4|between engine and compressor, or through the generator and electricalmotors supplied by the gen- A erator and connected to the parts tob'eoperated.

A further important advantage is gained, namely, the demands on theinternal combustion engine are, of course, proportional to the load onthe compressor and the transformer. "When the quantity of ozone beingdrawn oil" is lowered the power requirements are lowered and thereforethe heat generated by the internal combustion engine is lowered. As aconsequence, the amount of refrigeration is reduced.

While the internal combustion engine has ample capacity for heating therefrigerant for the purposeof cooling the air to be ozonized, it is ofcourse possible to provide a jacket on the compressor and absorb .heatfrom this source as well.

Various changes and alternate arrangements may be made within the scopeof the appends claims, in which it is my intention to claim all noveltyinherent in the invention.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for producing ozone comprising an air compressor, arefrigerating unit for chilling .air compressed by said compressor, anozonizing chamber having electrical means associated therewith, meansfor conducting chilled air from said unit to said chamberfor ozonizationby said electrical means, means for varying the amount of ozonized airwithdrawn from said chamber thereby varying the load on said compressorand electrical means, and means 'for'supplying a refrigerant to saidrefrigerating unit and for automatically regulating the refrigeratingeifect thereof in accordance with variations in the amount of ozonizedair withdrawn from the chamber, comprising a heat responsiverefrigerating system including said refrigerating unit, an electricalgenerator for energizing said electrical means, .an internal combustionengine drivably connected with said compressor and generator, the poweroutput of said engine then varying in proportion to the load on thecompressor and electrical means and hence varying ,in accordance withthe variation in the amount of ozonized air withdrawn, and means .totransmit heat generated incidental to Operation of the engine to saidheat responsive refrigerating system.

2. An apparatus for producing ozone comprising an air compressor, an airmotor, and an ozonizing chamber, means to conduct compressed air fromsaid compressor to said motor to drive the same and from the motor tosaid chamber, electrical discharge means within said chamber forozonizing the air conducted thereto, a fan drivably connected with theair motor and positioned within the chamber forlcirculating air oversaid discharge means, means for varying the amount of o-Zonized airwithdrawn from said chamber thereby varying the load on said compressorand electrical discharge means, and means for supplying a refrigerant tothe exterior of the chamber and for automatically regulating therefrigerating effect thereof in accordance with variations in the amountof ozonized air Withdrawn from the chamber, comprising a heat responsiverefrigerating system including said refrigerant supply means, anelectrical generator for energizing said electrical means, an internalcombustion engine drivably connected with the cmopressor and generator,the power output of the engine then varying in proportion to the load onthe compressor and electricalmeans and hence varying in accordanceWiththe'variat'ions in't'he amount of ozonized air withdrawn from saidchamber, and means totransmit heat generated incidental to the operationof .the engine to said heat responsive refrigeratingsystem.

3. An apparatus for producing ozone comprising an air compressor,anairmotor, 'andan ozonizing chamber, .means to conduct compressed airfrom said compressor to said motor to drive the same and from the latterto said chamber, a refrigerating unit for cooling the air'con'duc'te'd'from the compressor to themotor, a secondrefrigeratingunit for cooling said chamber, electrical discharge means Within thechamber for ozonizing the air conducted thereto, -a fan 'drivablyconnected with the air motor and positioned'within the chamber forcirculating air over said discharge means, means 'for Varying the amountof "ozon-ized air withdrawn from said chamber thereby varying the loadon said compressor and electrical discharge means, and means forsupplying a refrigerant to both said refrigerating unit and forautomatically regulating the reftigeratinge'ffect thereof in accordancewith variations-in the amount of ozonized air withdrawn from thechamber, comprising a heat responsive refrigerating system includingboth said ie'frigerating units, an electrical generator for energizing-said .DONA'LD lK. ALLISON.

